Tasmanian Premier Ousted After No Confidence Vote Passes

The no-confidence motion passed 18-17, with Speaker Michelle O’Byrne casting the deciding vote.

Tasmania’s Premier Jeremy Rockliff at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 17, 2022. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has lost the support of the state’s lower house after MPs backed a no-confidence motion, triggering a political crisis that could lead to a snap election.

The motion, tabled by Opposition Leader Dean Winter, passed by 18 votes to 17 after a two-day debate involving all 35 members.

The deciding vote came from Speaker Michelle O’Byrne, who exercised her casting vote in line with Labor policy.

“I have voted with my party since assuming the chair in 2024,” O’Byrne told the chamber. “No one in this chamber could realistically expect me to provide confidence to a Liberal government.”

Winter’s motion cited growing state debt, the government’s plan to cut public sector jobs, and the proposed sale of state assets as grounds to remove Rockliff.

“We had two choices,” Winter said. “Sit idly by and let this premier wreck our budget, sell our assets … or stand up for Tasmanians who deserve better.”

Premier Calls It ‘Selfish Grab for Power’

Reacting to the result, Rockliff labelled it “a very sad day for Tasmania,” blaming the opposition for recklessness.

“What I find most disappointing is the personalisation of the vote,” he said. “I’ll be damned if the Labor party is going to choose the leader of the Liberal party that I love.”

Speaking after the vote, he criticised what he described as a “grievance debate” that could have been held “any other day.” He said the outcome was politically motivated and unjustified.

“This has been a selfish grab for power, which we will fight and we will do our darndest to win,” Rockliff said in the Parliament.

He stood by his commitment to the controversial Hobart AFL stadium and Tasmanian AFL team, issues that featured heavily in the debate.

“I’ve always said stuff votes … and I’ll say it for the stadium for as long as I damn well live. Because I believe in it.”

Rockliff warned Winter that removing him would not come without consequences.

“Today, you might get rid of me, mate. But I’ll tell you what. They’re coming for you as well. Because you will always be known as a wrecker,” he said.

Early Poll Looms as Governor Abroad

With Governor Barbara Baker currently overseas, Rockliff is now expected to visit Lieutenant-Governor Christopher Shanahan to request a fresh election, just 15 months after the last poll.

“The advice will be that an election is needed,” Rockliff said. “I cannot let Mr Winter’s selfish grab for power destroy what we have built over the past decade.”

Winter, meanwhile, rejected claims that the opposition was forcing Tasmanians back to the ballot box.

“This is the decision of Jeremy Rockliff to go to the governor today, it’s not my decision,” he said. “It’s the premier whose confidence and supply agreements fell apart.”

If an election is called, it will be Tasmania’s fourth in seven years.